Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Government Response to the Rock Review on Agricultural Tenancies

Lord Benyon: Following the UK Farm to Fork Summit last week, the government has today set out its next steps to support tenant farmers who are at the heart of our rural economy. The Government supports tenant farmers because there is no better way to bring new people into the sector.We are today publishing the government response to the Rock Review of tenant farming in England. From day one of the agricultural transition, we have worked with tenant farmers as we co-designed our farming schemes, utilising their knowledge and experience. This is the next step, alongside significant work to date, to support farmers in all corners of the country to produce world class food, while protecting the environment. The government supports tenant farmers, because is one of the best routes to bring new people into the sector. I would like to thank Baroness Rock and the Tenancy Working Group for their time and dedication in producing the Review. Recognising how critical the tenanted sector is to a successful agricultural transition, we commissioned the Group, chaired by Baroness Rock, to carry out a comprehensive review of tenant farming in England. Today’s response builds on the considerable progress that we have made since the Review was commissioned to implement their ongoing feedback. For example, we have designed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) to be as accessible as possible to tenants, with the addition of six new standards in 2023 and shorter agreements. Further, half of the 22 Landscape Recovery projects selected in the first round involve tenants and we are delivering the aims of the Local Nature Recovery (LNR) scheme by evolving Countryside Stewardship (CS) instead of building an entirely new scheme. As announced at Budget 2023, we launched a consultation on extending inheritance tax relief. We have opened a Call for Evidence on the taxation of ecosystem service markets to understand the commercial operations and the areas of uncertainty in respect of taxation. We have also published the Nature Markets Framework, which provides greater clarity on the principles that will guide the development of UK market mechanisms for carbon and other ecosystem services and set out next steps including arrangements to develop a suite of investment standards for nature markets. These consultations, combined with the Nature Markets Framework, should give tenants and landlords more confidence to invest in and securely access payments from these new markets, opening up new revenue streams for the sector. We strongly agree with the review that tenant farmers should be able to access farm offers; make their essential contribution to restoring the natural environment; and produce food for the nation. We are therefore taking forward the majority of Baroness Rock’s recommendations and setting out the next steps to implement them today. Today we are announcing a new Farm Tenancy Forum to put in place more formal engagement and feedback structures between Defra and the tenanted sector. This will allow the tenanted sector to work with us, to provide regular feedback on trends in tenant/landlord agreements and report any emerging issues that may need addressing. effectively monitor trends in landlord-tenant relationships. We are inviting industry organisations who represent tenant farmers, agricultural landlords and professional advisors who work in the sector to be members of this group. The Forum will support the implementation of the Government Response to the Rock Review, feeding back real-world experience and insight on progress. A Terms of Reference for the group has been published alongside this government response. We will be launching a call for evidence this summer to explore the proposal for a tenant farming commissioner in England in more detail. This will examine the benefits and impacts of how a Tenant Farming Commissioner might work in practice and how the role would fit within existing procedures and regulations. We agree with the Review that the tenanted sector has an essential role as a route into farming for new entrants. We will work to embed the views of the tenanted sector in the development of our New Entrant Support Scheme, working closely with the new Tenant Farming Forum.Our response sets out the significant progress we have made to ensure our new farming schemes work for every type of farmer. We are supporting those with shorter tenancies or where there is a change of land manager/owner by removing penalties and increasing flexibility in agreement lengths, where it still provides value for taxpayer money. We are also introducing a requirement in Countryside Stewardship for landlords to engage with their tenant prior to applying in order to obtain their support. The legacy of the Review will mean that tenant concerns are heard and addressed through our policies and schemes, and we will continue to engage with the Forum and the wider sector as we implement its recommendations and move through the agricultural transition.

Home Office

The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill

Lord Murray of Blidworth: My rt hon Friend the Minister of State for Immigration (Robert Jenrick) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:The British Nationality (Regularisation of Past Practice) Bill, introduced today, will confirm in statute a long-standing historical policy under which EU, EEA and Swiss nationals living in the UK in the relevant period and exercising free movement rights here were considered to be settled. This will protect the nationality rights of people born in the UK to parents who were considered settled on the basis of that policy, and who were treated as British automatically, and those who registered or naturalised as British citizens on that basis. The Bill also clarifies when EU, EEA and Swiss nationals could be considered settled on the basis of exercising an equivalent right in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, which are considered part of the UK for nationality purposes. We want to be clear that we are not creating ‘new’ British citizens, but rather confirming the citizenship of individuals we have long considered, and treated as, British already under established Home Office policy. The introduction of the Bill was preceded by consultation with the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, with relevant officials in these locations having confirmed their support for the measures the UK Government is looking to introduce. To support scrutiny of the Bill by both Houses, we are publishing on GOV.uk and Parliament.uk the following documents:Explanatory NotesEquality Impact AssessmentECHR MemorandumFactsheet

Attorney General

May 2023 update on progress in delivering the recommendations in Sir David Calvert-Smith’s Independent Review into the Serious Fraud Office’s handling of the Unaoil Case

Lord Stewart of Dirleton: Following the Court of Appeal’s judgment in the Unaoil case (R. v Akle & Anor) in December 2021, the then Attorney General commissioned Sir David Calvert-Smith to conduct an independent review into the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) handling of the case. Sir David’s full report was published on 21 July 2022, alongside a response to his recommendations. Sir David made 11 recommendations, which were accepted. These covered a range of matters, including record keeping and case assurance, compliance with policies, and resourcing. At the same time, the then Attorney General laid a Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) providing Parliament with the findings of Sir David’s review and a response to his recommendations. This statement included a commitment to update Parliament on progress in delivering these recommendations in November 2022 and February 2023. On 29 November 2022, I laid a WMS providing the first of these updates and a detailed progress update was also published on GOV.UK. This update showed substantial progress in delivering Sir David’s recommendations, with the SFO having already taken significant action to implement nine of his 11 recommendations. For the two remaining recommendations, work had commenced to address Sir David’s proposals. At the same time, this update highlighted that while many of the changes recommended by Sir David could – and have been – made quickly, it would take time to embed these changes and assess their effectiveness. I also informed Parliament that the second progress update would be provided in May 2023 to allow the findings of an upcoming inspection of the SFO by His Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) to be considered as part of the update. Today, I am providing the second update on progress against Sir David’s recommendations. As of May 2023, there continues to be good progress. Significant action has now been taken to deliver all eleven of Sir David’s recommendations, with further activity planned in some instances. In addition, action to embed the changes that have been made and monitor their effectiveness is ongoing. There is also independent evidence that the actions taken so far are proving to be effective. On 4 May 2023, HMCPSI published its follow-up inspection of case progression in the SFO. As part of the inspection, where issues raised in Sir David’s review were within scope, HMCPSI used the evidence gathered to assess the progress made to address his recommendations. While highlighting some areas for further work, this assessment indicated positive progress on many of his recommendations. It nonetheless remains the case that it will take time to fully embed Sir David’s recommendations and assess whether the actions taken have been effective. To support this longer-term assessment, the Law Officers have asked the Chief Inspector of HMCPSI to consider an inspection of the recommendations’ implementation as part the HMCPSI’s inspection programme in 2024-25. A detailed update on progress will be published on GOV.UK today and copies will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.

Leader of the House of Lords

Machinery of Government

Lord True: My Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister has made the following statement.I am making this statement to bring to the House’s attention the following Machinery of Government changes.First, responsibility for the delivery of the Windsor Framework will be transferred from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to sit alongside the existing Northern Ireland Unit in the Cabinet Office. The Foreign Secretary remains responsible for UK/EU relations and will continue as co-chair of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement Partnership Council and Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee – the body that oversees the UK and EU implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement.Second, the UK Governance team will formally move from the Cabinet Office into the Union and Devolution team in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). This will consolidate matters relating to intergovernmental relations, including Common Frameworks, under the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities as the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations. This is an administrative change that does not affect ministerial responsibilities.Both the Windsor Framework and Union teams in the Cabinet Office and DLUHC respectively will be brought together under a single official reporting structure to allow for more effective join-up across all union policy. These changes will take effect immediately.Third, sponsorship of HM Land Registry and its associated bodies will move from the Department for Business and Trade to DLUHC. This will aid the delivery of DLUHC’s key policy objectives including improving the home buying and selling process and delivering the land transparency provisions in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. This change will take effect on 1 June 2023.Fourth, ministerial responsibility for civil Earth Observation (EO) policy and its associated EU programme will be consolidated in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Bringing responsibility for EO policy into a single department will enable greater flexibility to support the UK space sector and to make decisions about investments into science programmes. Defra will retain an interest by leading on the EO development of environmental, agricultural and natural resource applications. This change will take effect on 1 July 2023.Fifth, responsibility for the delivery of the Supporting Families programme will transfer from DLUHC to the Department for Education. This transfer provides an opportunity to expand the impact of the programme by bringing together the system of support for children and families. This will enable the Education Secretary to deliver a coordinated approach through a series of reforms that support the Government’s wider social policy agenda. This change will take effect on 1 April 2024. Finally, departmental sponsorship of UK Shared Business Services has been formally transferred to DSIT following the BEIS Transfer of Functions Order formalised on 3 May 2023.